Summary
Benjamin begins his essay with a quotation from Paul Valery's "The Conquest of Ubiquity," in which Valery notes that the definition of art itself is likely to change as society changes. Benjamin opens the essay proper by noting that, like Karl Marx's communist theory, his analysis will focus on the topic of means of production—specifically, art production—in society in order to anticipate political futures.
Benjamin notes that art has always been reproducible, and cites a number of technologies that made reproduction faster and easier. These technologies include the printing press, the lithograph, and the photo camera. He explains that film, however, provides the best example of how changing technology has altered the production and reception of art.
With the advent of new technologies, mechanical reproduction has muddied the concept of authenticity. Whereas an "original" piece of art retained its value due to its authenticity, contemporary modes of reproduction are so advanced that they can bring to light elements of art that even the original cannot show. As such, mechanical reproduction effectively diminishes the value of the original, a phenomenon Benjamin describes as the loss of a piece of art's "aura." Benjamin goes on to describe how art began as a form of ritual, but has now been entirely emancipated from that original function and will, he predicts, be co-opted entirely for political purposes.
Analysis
The beginning of "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" establishes Benjamin's major stakes, his primary point of analysis, and his central argument. As a piece of cultural criticism, the essay is largely devoted to thinking about the way society is changing and why those changes matter. Benjamin examines these societal changes specifically through a study of art, and more specifically through a study of art production. By invoking Karl Marx at the beginning of the essay, Benjamin asserts that his own argument will follow a similar structure to Marx's: he will analyze means of artistic production in order to showcase these societal changes and theorize about political changes to come. His stakes, then, are embedded in his own cultural climate. Written during the Nazi regime in Germany, Benjamin's essay posits that the way art is produced and consumed can and will be co-opted for political ends by proponents of fascism.
He introduces his primary case study by providing a brief history of technologies that made mechanical reproduction of art possible. Despite the major changes ushered in by the printing press, the lithograph, and the photo camera, the technological advancements of film in particular have indelibly shaped the way art is both produced and received. He takes as his primary subject, then, the art of film, but does not delve immediately into an analysis of film technology. Instead, he moves backwards theoretically, first establishing for his readers what about certain works of art renders them so valuable and significant. This theoretical argument helps prepare the reader for his future argument about the particulars of contemporary film, as it explains how responses to art have shifted over time.
It is within this theoretical exploration that Benjamin develops the central argument of his essay: mechanical reproduction of both quality and quantity has diminished the uniqueness or "aura" of art objects. That Benjamin uses the term "aura" to describe the uniqueness of a work of art is significant because the word typically denotes a spiritual or energetic quality surrounding a person or thing. As such, it is often associated with mystery and an enigmatic, unseen experience. This enigmatic quality is precisely what Benjamin argues has been diminished in the production and reception of art, as an art object's aura can only exist in a particular time and place—a temple, for example—while mechanical reproduction allows for the art object to exist in many places at once. Whereas art production used to be intimately tied to ritual and ceremony, it is now tied primarily to reproduction itself—a reality that Benjamin suggests will be used for the benefit of political parties.
